Sunday, August 17, 2008

No-Hurry Curry, part deux

The kids called me at work shortly after noon to ask if they could make no-bake cookies. I tentatively answered with a yes, but suggested they might prefer a fudge pop from the deep freeze. At that time, I also instructed Emily to take the curry that I'd put together last night from the fridge into the slow-cooker.

After I finished serving and cleaning up from lunch at Hope, I prepped a bit for dinner and realized I had a big slab of down-time ahead of me. I alerted the nurses that I was heading out and drove home to peek in on the kids. I arrived to find undercooked no-bake cookies, half eaten Annie's Cheesy Bunnies, a kitchen in complete disarray and two extra kids. Oh yeah, and an empty Crock-Pot.

So I cranked the cooker to "high" and started dinner. I also decided that I couldn't count on the rice being cooked to my standards and started it on the stovetop. Then I tackled the mess -- or at least a reasonable portion of it. And then I fell asleep.

I made it back to work in plenty of time to get dinner out for my adoring residents (ok, there are only a couple who are adoring) and was excited to taste my slowly simmered concoction when my long day (week) was done. I could smell it from outside and excitedly added the last couple of ingredients and tasted it. . . . .ho hum. Not as much flavor as I needed. I added salt, garamasala, cumin and, of course, ginger. Better. Then when served myself, I added sriracha sauce. It was exactly what I was craving at the end of my day. And best yet, someone else typed the recipe for me.